


In the Rain

by EpicLilKitty



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-10
Updated: 2018-02-10
Packaged: 2019-03-16 06:18:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,587
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13630419
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EpicLilKitty/pseuds/EpicLilKitty
Summary: Short little reveal fic. This is a one-shot





	In the Rain

“Miraculous Ladybug!” The girl cried out, tossing her Lucky Charm into the air. As usual, the item, a hairbrush of all things, burst into a bunch of tiny ladybugs. She watched the Miraculous Cure, as she had taken to calling it, work its magic, fixing the destruction brought on by their latest battle. The most recent Akuma Victim had been a young girl, Victoria. She was only eleven or twelve years old and had been flush with the novelty of her first crush. Unfortunately, twelve-year-old boys weren’t exactly good at expressing their feelings and the object of her affections had openly mocked her in front of his guy friends. In all honesty, Ladybug couldn’t really blame Victoria for giving into the darkness. Not when she, herself, wanted to do the same thing. It would be so easy to give in, to give  _ up _ , and that honestly scared her. Leaning against the building, she sighed and dropped her head. When she had first become Ladybug, she had been so scared that she would make a mistake. That everyone would see her for the phony she was. Over the past four years, most of her fears had faded, largely due to her partner’s unwavering faith.

Now, she was an icon. An idol. People looked to her for guidance and she  _ hated _ it. She wanted to cry and scream and shout but she  _ couldn’t  _ because Ladybug had to set an example. Wrapping her arms tightly around her center, the bluenette took a shaky breath. Victoria wasn’t the only one who had gotten her heart broken recently. Of course, no one blamed Victoria for giving into the darkness. It was only natural. Before Ladybug could dwell further on her inner turmoil and the unfairness of it all, Chat dropped down from the building above her. He was a little beat up, his hair soaked from the pouring rain, but the grin on his face never wavered. In fact, it only widened when he spotted her, and she found herself shifting her gaze away as she fought back the sting of tears. Chat held his fist out expectantly. “Pound… it?” His normally exuberant voice trailed off as he realized she wasn’t participating in their typical end of fight ritual. “My Lady? Are you okay?” He took a step closer, ducking around in an effort to meet her gaze, but she kept her eyes locked firmly away from his.

“Sorry, Chat. Just gimme… a sec.” She whispered brokenly, squeezing her eyes tightly. Her eyes burned with unshed tears and she was trying to stay strong but it was hard. So terribly hard. She knew if she could just make it to the bakery, if she could just make it into her bedroom and de-transform, she could let go. No one would blame simple, unextraordinary Marinette for giving into the pain of rejection again. No one would blame clumsy, erratic Marinette for holing up in her bedroom for a few more days with a couple Pints of ice cream and a bunch of sappy Chick Flicks to keep her company. No one would blame sweet, unassuming Marinette for crying her eyes out yet again. Unfortunately, she seemed rooted to the spot. She almost wished she could go back in time, go back to being  _ just _ Marinette all the time. She could feel Chat’s eyes on her, but for once he had no cheeky comeback or witty pun. After a moment, he turned and walked away. Confused, Ladybug lifted her head to stare at the spot he had disappeared. Chat wasn’t normally the one to just let something like this go, but she was really too tired to question what he was doing. Trying not to cry was proving to be a lot more difficult than she had originally expected. She dropped her head, ignoring the wet strands of hair that slapped against her cheeks and forehead, the pouring rain loosening the hold of her signature ponytails. She couldn’t be bothered to lift a hand and brush the strands back, even when water dripped into her eyes. Great, now she  _ looked _ like she was crying with none of the actual relief.

Ladybug tightened her hold around her midsection, curling in on herself, and almost missed the sound of footsteps approaching. It took all her effort just to glance up as Chat stepped back around the corner, gripping something in his hand. “Hey,” he spoke softly, gently. More gently than she had ever heard him speak before, at least when she was Ladybug. He tended to be gentler, sweeter when she was Marinette and she idly wondered why that was. It was the gentleness that roused her enough so that she managed to lift her head up and meet his gaze. He was holding the object out towards her and the raven-haired girl shifted her gaze up to find… an umbrella. Chat had found her an umbrella and for a moment, Ladybug could only stare wordlessly at what should have been an insignificant item. Except that it wasn’t insignificant at all. That little umbrella held so much meaning; more meaning than Chat could comprehend. Slowly, warmth seemed to curl within the girl’s heart and she found herself turning towards him, gravitating towards him. Slowly, she lifted her eyes to Chat’s.

Ladybug felt the breath freeze in her lungs as her eyes locked onto her partner’s eyes. His eyes were green; impossibly green. They always had been but now, the color seemed to be enhanced by the tiny rain droplets on his eyelashes. He was smiling warmly; a deep, dimpled smile that was familiar. So familiar and yet… not. Chat had never smiled at her quite like that. His eyes had never crinkled at the corners in this way. But there was another. A boy who had flashed her a gentle, dimpled smile years ago. A boy whose eyes had crinkled at the corner just as Chat’s were doing now. A boy who, years ago, had extended a very similar umbrella as a peace offering. As a sign of friendship.  A boy named-

“A...drien?” She whispered the name, so softly she wasn’t certain at first if he would hear her. Chat froze, his eyes stretching impossibly wide as he stared at her. Ladybug lifted one hand towards her chest, fingers curling into a loose fist as her free hand stretched out hesitantly. She stopped, fingers hovering inches from the boy’s cheek. Her heart seemed to have leaped into her throat as she took an involuntary step back, away from the boy with the gentle smile and the kind eyes. Chat reached for her, stopping when she flinched away from his touch.

“My lady, you… you know me?” Chat whispered, not bothering denying who he was. Why would he? After all, he had made it no secret that he wanted to share his identity with her and vice versa from the very beginning.

“Y-yes.” She whispered, wanting to look away but finding herself unable to do so. His eyes seemed to hold her captive.

“W-what gave it away?” He finally asked, genuinely curious, and Ladybug felt her heart sink. Did he not remember how, four years ago, he had given his umbrella to another pigtailed girl? She had been Marinette at the time. Simple, ordinary Marinette. Maybe that’s why the memory hadn’t stuck with him. She was certain if she had been Ladybug, the memory would have been imprinted upon his mind as strongly as it was imprinted upon hers.

“You, um… the umbrella.” She whispered, finally managing to tear her gaze from his. Chat was silent for a long moment and she chanced a quick peek at his face. He was frowning, confused, trying to discover the significance of a silly umbrella and clearly coming up empty.

“I’m sorry, my Lady. How- how did the umbrella give it away, exactly?” He finally asked and the spotted heroine mentally steeled herself. She was going to do it. She was going to tell Chat who she was, and she was going to watch the disappointment crash down on his face. She wasn’t going to look away this time. Why she wanted to torture herself, she wasn’t certain. All she knew was that she  _ had _ to confirm what she already knew. That Chat Noir, that  _ Adrien _ , would never be able to accept her as Ladybug. Perhaps she hoped that seeing it would help her get over him quicker, but either way, she found herself facing him head-on once more.

“It was four years ago; it was raining and you gave another girl your umbrella, Adrien.” She whispered quietly.

“Four years ago? Back in middle school? That can’t be right. I never-” He broke off and Ladybug watched as the wheels began turning in his head. She watched a previous conversation that had taken place only days before run through his mind. She watched the realization of what she was implying hit. It started slow. His brow furrowed, then relaxed. It furrowed again. His eyes flitted to her, taking in every aspect of her person. The style and color of her hair; the unique shade and shape of her eyes, so rare for a Parisian; the shape of her face, the height, the figure. She could see him comparing it to an image in his head, watched his jaw go slack… and she released her transformation. Marinette stared at Chat solemnly and, under different circumstances, might have been pleased at seeing the tomcat rendered speechless.

“Hi, Adrien.” She whispered quietly.


End file.
